By The River's Edge
by 1432
Summary: A certain spot holds an important significance to Ash and Misty's past and their future. AAMR


By The River's Edge  
  
Romance-PG  
  
Summary: A certain spot holds an important significance to Ash and Misty's past and their future. AAMR  
  
--  
  
The crisp spring air nipped at his neck along with the warmth of the sunlight. The lush green grass crunched underneath his feet as he tried to walk through the tall trees of the forest while holding his hands over the eyes of the girl walking in front of him.  
  
"Ash Ketchum, where are you taking me?" the beautiful redhead loudly asked him, beginning to grow annoyed at the fact he was leading her to an unknown place.  
  
"You'll see," Ash simply told her once again getting an exasperated sigh as a response. He exhaled deeply and struggled to wipe the impending sweat off his forehead with his shoulder. To say he was nervous would be an understatement, he was beyond terrified but still so utterly determined to the task he was about to complete.  
  
Many would wonder what he had to be so worried about. To the rest of the world, Ash had everything anyone could ever ask for. He had accomplished his goal of becoming a master a year ago at the mere age of 16, something that few would ever do in a lifetime. He was blessed with very good looks which had matured from the cute pre-teenager he used to be. The dark hair, chocolate brown eyes, cheeky grin, and his tall muscular build were his now main attractive attributes. He had matured personality wise too. He was still big-hearted and courageous, but now thought before making actions that could endanger him. It was a wonder for someone who seemed to have everything, could be hiding something so important inside of him for so long... love.  
  
It was quite obvious to anyone witnessing it that Ash was in love with Misty. They had been dealing with the teasing of a liking towards one another since they were ten years old. Random strangers were always making comments about how cute their love-hate relationship was. They both always denied it fiercely, stating that in no way could they ever be attracted toward one another. Over the past two years it had become harder for Ash to deny it though, because his crush had developed into to something much more.  
  
That was the reason that he had to do what he was going to do. The fear of rejection in his mind was being overpowered by the pain of holding in feelings so strong. He was terrified with the fact that Misty would not portray the same emotions back towards him, but part of him believed that she could. He had begun to notice the little things whenever he was around her. How she'd tense up nervously at his touch, how she'd be overjoyed by a simple positive comment from him, and mostly of all how she'd steal glances at him from the corner of her eye whenever she thought he wasn't looking. All of them added up, and gave the slightest bit of hope to his heart.  
  
He stole another glance at her from behind and almost had to physically remind himself to breathe after a few seconds. Misty had always been pretty when she was younger but over the seven year time span her beauty had truly blossomed into the beautiful young woman she was. Her red hair had grown past her shoulders and she rarely ever ventured in wearing it up anymore. Her big blue eyes and pale skin remained, still free of make up unless it was a special occasion. Her wardrobe had changed as well to a more feminine one along with her figure which had turned out very nicely with curves in all the right places.  
  
As he finally reached the destination he had been searching for he halted Misty from taking any steps further with an abrupt stop. He turned her around, with his hands still covering her eyes so her back was towards where they had gone.   
  
"Okay, stand right here but don't open your eyes or turn around until I say you can," he commanded her.  
  
She giggled, anxious and pleased, squeezing her eyes shut in excitement as he removed his hands from them. Ash smoothed out his black t-shirt and reached into the large pocket of his jeans. He smirked slightly as he noticed the jeans and yellow t-shirt she just happened to be wearing that day, similar to what she used to wear in their earlier years. He unfolded the crumbled and tattered object before placing it on his spiky black hair.  
  
"Okay, you can open then now."  
  
One eye at a time Misty's blue orbs came into view. She let out a laugh of delight as she witnessed Ash's beloved Pokemon League hat resting on his head once again. "Oh my god! You still have that?" she exclaimed.  
  
"Yup," he replied.  
  
"Well, two can play at that game," she implied teasingly. Misty flipped down her head of long, silky, straight hair. She pulled an elastic off her wrist and put it up in a loose hanging ponytail, promptly high on the side of her head. He laughed in amusement and she soon joined in as they thought back to the younger versions of themselves. "All right, so are we out here so you could show me your hat and we could have a laugh?" she questioned him after a beat, still confused about the reason for the secret detour.  
  
"No, I came to show you this," he said as he turned her around to face what was behind her.  
  
A small gasp escaped Misty's lips as she gazed at the beautiful scenery. The calm, rushing water of the river flowed smoothly as it was surrounded by a bed of grass and rocks. There was barley any trees towering over the area so the sunlight shined down on it perfectly. Misty would recognize the spot from anywhere; it wasn't exactly a place she could easily forget. It was the spot where she and Ash first met.  
  
She looked up towards him in sheer amazement finding a grin on his still nervous face. "Ash..." she murmured, unable to find any words to express her emotions of joy and disbelief for she was truly touched at his actions.  
  
He didn't respond, but strode over to a nearby rock resting one of his legs to stand on it. He turned toward her. "Remember this spot, Myst?" he asked her, his dark eyes twinkling. She smiled and walked over to join his side.  
  
"How could I forget?" she inquired, softly. "It's not everyday you fish up some dense little, future, Pokemon Master like yourself," she stated louder than her previous tone as she chuckled slightly.  
  
"And it's not everyday I get fished up by some scrawny little redhead with a temper to match," he laughed.  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manor. "Quiet, you." A melodic beat of silence passed before Misty spoke again. "Okay, so did you drag me out here just to rekindle old memories or is there another reason behind all of this?"  
  
He gulped, being pulled back into the seriousness of the situation once more. "There's a reason," he told her, swallowing once more. She folded her arms across her chest, waiting for him to speak. "I brought you out here because there's uh, something very important that I need to tell you." There were sharp pauses between each one of his words as he tried to wipe his now sweating palms.  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, what is it?"  
  
Taking a deep breath, he began to speak. "Misty, this spot right here, is where it all began. It's where we crossed paths for the first time and ironically under the circumstances of our meeting, became inseparable best friends."  
  
"Aww, Ash..." Misty cooed, staring at him admiringly.  
  
"I can't even begin to say how different my journey would have been if I hadn't of met you. I probably would not be standing here as a master today if I hadn't, because after everything that we've all been through together, I realized that I would never have been able to do the things that I've done without you always by my side. You're the one person who has never left me once, no matter what, thank you for that. And now I am asking you as the person who's never left me... not to leave me if you don't feel the same way of what I am going to tell you."  
  
"Ash..." she started once again but he held a finger to her lips to silence her. She slightly trembled under his soft touch but gave into his requests, listening attentively to what he was about to say.  
  
"Myst, you have no idea about how long and how hard it has been for me to keep something like this buried inside of me. I've tried so much to deny it on the outside to anyone who suspected, but I've come to the realization that I can't continue speaking the opposite of something that is so true." He sighed once more, getting ready to go through the words he had been practicing in his head for so long. "Somewhere along the way, through all our adventures and hardships I came to the revelation of something I thought had always been minor and would eventually disappear. Now, I don't know if you are going to agree with this but just know that I am doing this to just to let you know, not to pressure you in any way. I hope with all my heart that you feel the same, because as of right now I have never been more terrified in my life and I know that and I..."  
  
"Ash, you're rambling," Misty informed him suddenly, abruptly cutting him off in the middle of his sentence. He shot her an exasperated look and she bit her lip. "Sorry," she quickly apologized for the interruption. "Go on."  
  
He took a deep breath and struggled to regain what he had previously been saying. His hand shakily made its way to her cheek, his fingertips entwining themselves in her hair. Ash wasn't sure if it had been his imagination, but briefly he could have sworn that she momentarily closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.   
  
"This is something seven years in the making and something that I still cannot believe I actually have found the bravery to admit. The thing is, Misty..." He held his gaze with her contentedly, finding the courage to utter the next words to her. "I'm in love with you."  
  
A sharp intake of air filled Misty's lungs as she inhaled, trying to comprehend if she had heard him right. There it was right in front of her face, her best friend of seven years confessing to her the one thing she had secretly dreamed of all along. Her fear of rejection was what prevented her from telling Ash the exact same things he had just told her. It caused her more joy and shock if anything else for her to discover, that her feelings for him had been mirrored all along.  
  
Their eyes still remained fixated on one another. Chocolate brown orbs desperately searching the aqua blue ones for a sign, for some reaction to what she had just learned. She slowly took in the news, a grin now visible on her face. Misty leaned forward, running a hand through Ash's dark hair, letting it rest on his neck afterwards.  
  
"I couldn't have said it any better myself," she whispered into his ear, confirming all worries and doubts he had kept bottled inside. Their eyes met once more and a smile formed on Ash's face as well. He moved his arm slowly around her waist and she moved her other one around his neck as they leaned forward and both did something they had been waiting for seven years to do.  
  
They kissed one another passionately with a gentle but hard force. The feelings of their lips together seemed so perfect, so right for it was what they had always been meant to do. Ash felt his heart begin to flutter as Misty's did also. With every touch of lips and tongue the more they realized how long their feelings had been surpassed deep within their own minds until the breaking point.  
  
The kiss was broken by the both of them as the need for air overtook them. Sighing contentedly, Misty leaned her head in his broad chest as he kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her petite form.  
  
"I love you," he murmured into her hair, the words sliding easily off his tongue now.  
  
Releasing herself from his embrace Misty looked up to face him. "I'm glad," she told him cheerily, running a lone finger over his cheek. "Because I love you too."  
  
Ash's face twisted in a smile once more matching the one Misty held. He leaned forward kissing her again and then placed an arm around her shoulders as they headed back towards camp... together, as they finally were.  
  
* * *  
  
The gentle wind breezed through twenty-four year old Ash Ketchum's hair as he cruised down the trail of the forest in his silver convertible. The familiar setting brought back a flood of memories from his earlier days as he glanced up at the tall, towering trees overhead. A smile etched its way onto his face as he stole a glance at his girlfriend of seven years seated next to him. He had put a blindfold over her eyes, much to her dismay. He had explained to her that he wanted it to be a surprise, and that he didn't want her to recognize any surroundings on the way there and know where they were going. It all had to be perfect, special, because in his eyes, she deserved nothing but the best.  
  
"All right." Ash turned to hear Misty's voice beside him. "As much as I adore you, I swear to god if you do not tell me where you're taking me right now I'll rip off this blindfold and strangle you with it," she threatened.  
  
He laughed at her anger; it never ceased to amuse him. "Baby, you really have to learn to be more patient," he told her.  
  
"I am patient! I put up with you, don't I?" she retorted, hotly.  
  
Smirking, he ruffled her long, crimson tresses. "We'll be there in a sec."  
  
She huffed and stubbornly folded her arms against her chest as she leaned back against the leather seat. "We better be."  
  
A few minutes later they reached a wide open clearing where a river freely flowed through it. He had taken her to a place which held such a huge significance toward the two of them.  
  
He led her out of the car and took the blindfold of her eyes, stopping nearby the infamous rock she had once been sitting on all those years ago. She shot him an impending glance as she recognized the familiarity of the place.  
  
"Why does this feel like déjà vu all over again?" she questioned him impishly, cocking her head towards his.  
  
He shrugged, pushing a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe because it's the same spot where you confessed your utterly devoted love for me?"  
  
"Okay, wait a second there, I confessed? It was you who started it all seven years ago with the smooth line of 'I have something important to tell you,'" she teased him in return.  
  
"Well, it worked. And anyway it was you who started it all another seven years ago by hooking me on that damn fishing line of yours."  
  
She didn't retort this time, but simply just smiled at the memory. "I guess I also hooked your heart in the process," she noted quietly.  
  
"You most certainly did," he agreed in the same tone. "That's why I brought you here today, because this spot holds more importance to the two of us then anywhere else. This is where I feel the closest to you. The last time I brought you here I had to tell you something, and this time I need to ask you something..." As Ash finished speaking he received a semi- hard hit on his arm from Misty. He looked at her confusedly wondering what the slap was for.  
  
"No, Ash, I will not have sex with you in the middle of a forest," she told him, bluntly. "It's a little too G-I Jane for my taste."  
  
Ash laughed out loud at her remark. "As tempting as that sounds, that's not intended on asking you."  
  
"Okay, so ask me then." Misty sighed, becoming slightly anxious.  
  
He eyed her seriously and took one of her slender hands in his, massaging the smooth skin with his thumb. "Misty, right here in this spot is our complete history together. It was here where you walked into my life and never walked out of it since then. It was here where our love for one another was proclaimed and where I promised I would love you forever. And it's here where I want to make sure that you'll always be by my side forever because frankly, a life without you is something I can't even imagine anymore."   
  
Ash's sweet words penetrated themselves in Misty's heart and she smiled at him warmly. Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she witnessed her best friend of fourteen years, and boyfriend of seven, get down on one knee...  
  
"Oh god.." she murmured in sheer amazement, glancing down at the man she loved before her as he pulled a small black box out from his back pocket.  
  
"Misty," Ash started, gazing up into her aqua orbs like he had so many times before. "Will you marry me?" He flicked open the small box to show a beautiful diamond ring resting on a bed of velvet as he held it towards her. The tears that had welled in Misty's eyes spilled down her cheeks in happiness. She nodded several times before finally finding the words in her throat.  
  
"Yes," she answered quietly, much to Ash's relief. "Yes," she repeated again, this time louder. Ash stood up, grinning and wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her's around his neck.   
  
"I guess I really will be at your side forever, huh?" Misty joked, smiling through her tears.  
  
"You better believe it," Ash spoke softly. He tilted her chin upwards and lightly kissed his new fiancé on the lips. He slipped the beautiful ring on her left hand and gathered her back in his arms, hugging her tightly in his embrace. They both turned their heads, staring at the river, the melodic sound of the water pulsing in their ears.  
  
They were together once again as another door was opened. They were in their sacred spot of memories, the spot of their life, right by the river's edge.  
  
fin. 


End file.
